For Store Manager Tim Lockwood, opening a brand-new Wegmans Food Market in Hanover is a dream come true. The store, located at 34 Sylvan Way near the intersection of I-287 and NJ Route 10, is the family-owned company’s 93rd store overall, 8th in New Jersey, and the first to open this year.

“The opportunity to introduce a whole new way of shopping to this community is exhilarating,” he says. “When you add to that the chance to build a new team and instill the Wegmans values in nearly 500 employees, you’ve reached the pinnacle of your career.”

Lockwood himself has worked at Wegmans for 28 years and looks upon his new assignment as a fresh chance to give back. Although the store opens to the public at 7 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, Wegmans’ core value for making a difference in every community it serves began more than a year ago in Hanover. Early on, the store’s management began establishing community partnerships, supporting local agencies like the Interfaith Food Pantry and the United Way, awarding honorary scholarships to local students in a nod to the company’s employee scholarship program, and getting to know the neighborhood by attending and sponsoring events.

At 113,000 square feet, the Hanover store has a light and airy feel, an open floor plan on a single level, and a generous seating area in the Market Café, with space for more than 300 diners indoors and out. The store also features one of Wegmans’ popular restaurant concepts, The Burger Bar. A 15,000 sq. ft. wine, beer, and spirits shop leased to a third-party owner in an adjoining space offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for beverage pairings to complement meals.

Among the 65,000 individual products carried at Wegmans Hanover are more than 3,000 organic items, up to 700 produce offerings, 300 imported and domestic cheeses – including Wegmans’ own cave-aged cheeses – a wide array of international ingredients, and whole fish delivered daily and cut to order. Store hours are 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

Lockwood’s goal is “to have all my people share in our success. I’ve always strived to work together not just to set goals, but to achieve them and then to celebrate the accomplishment.” Employees have spent the last several months training and preparing for one goal: to dazzle customers with incredible service, quality, selection, and low prices.

A few minutes before 7 a.m. on opening day, employees will gather in the entryway of the new store to do the Wegmans cheer, a time-honored tradition that precedes each opening. When the doors open and customers begin walking in, the celebration truly begins.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 93-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 20 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2017.